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Bryan and I are having a date day. He is actually off this weekend. Say whaaa??? I know right. This is the first time in 13 days the alarms has not gone off at 6 am. Hallelujah!

So, I slept in….which means I was up at 720 and out the door running by 740. Bryan skipped out on this part of date day. I almost did too. But as usual, I am so glad I did. I wish I was one of those people that absolutely loves running and hardly ever has to convince themselves to get up and go. I am not. I like it and usually happy once I am out. But I do not love it yet. Running is hard man and sometimes my legs are just stiff bricks. So, what is a girl to do? Here are some motivational things I found useful this morning:

  1. I remind myself that you never regret a work out, but you regret NOT working out. This usually does the trick. I have found that those common fitness/diet tips you hear so often almost always are true. Hence, the reason you hear them so much.
  2. Negotiate with myself. Maybe I am really sore/tired. Okay, lets do the elliptical instead, or plan a shorter distance. How about just get out and do a mile and check back in with myself. Usually, I find that once I’m out I feel good and can keep going. If I’m still feeling ehh, then I’m done. Something is better than nothing, and I can always try again later.
  3. Dangle a reward. If I get out and exercise, then I can stop off for a good coffee at my favorite place or an egg sandwich on the way home today. I try not to do the reward thing often but on really rough days, why not. Or instead of getting it out, tell myself I will add a special ingredient my usual breakfast when I get back. Say some nut butter or chocolate covered almonds to my oats or something.

Usually one of them does the trick, today I incorporated all three. Still coming off of Wednesday 4.5 mile high. I decided it was fine to do a shorter easy run. Usually, I think to think go big, or go home. But going small is definitely a better option than not at all. I set out to do only 1.75-2 miles. It was a really nice morning and I ended up enjoying a 2.6 mile run and going to down to do something strength training when I got back. Back + Biceps + Abs. I will post the routine in this week in work outs.

Check out the new run skirt:

I got a Champion running skirt at Target for only $15 a few weeks ago and have yet to use it. The verdict! Love it! The skirt is more comfortable than shorts.

After the work out, date day was back on with my number 3 motivational tool. I made Green Monster Protein Pancakes. I actually didn’t think of this until I was on my run. Maybe it is what kept me going further. I’m sure I’ve seen them on another blog a some point and that’s where I got the idea.

GM Protein Pancakes (For 2):

Combine these ingredients into blender and blend until combined

  • 2/3 c. of milk of choice, I used unsweetened chocolate almond today
  • 2 big handfuls of spinach
  • 2/3 c. old fashion oats
  • 1 1/2 scoops of choc. sunwarrior protein powder
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/3 packet stevia – just a touch of sweetness
  • topped these with 1 mashed banana (split btw the 2 of us) and walnuts. Bryan also added a drizzle of agave syrup on top.

This made 4 medium pancakes (1/4 c. scoops of batter) and 1 more slightly smaller pancake. Bryan gladly took the extra. I was pumped that he liked them. He is always leery when I start “making weird things.” But I’ve never made a weird thing he didn’t like.

We just got back from see at 1pm showing of Captain America (thumbs up by the way) and eating leftovers for lunch. Salad for me and indian for him.

Now, I think we are off to continue date day at a coffee shop to get work done. Or maybe we will just find ourselves at a Wine bar with outdoor seating instead 🙂

What is your pancake topping of choice? I think some berries dropped into the batter would have been really good too.

And you tried a running skirt yet – do you love it??